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Equities Sector Coverage: Investors Take Profits

It seems as though investors around the world are entering a period of profit-taking in stocks and commodities. Stocks opened lower on Wall Street, but rebounded after 10:00 AM as Factory Orders for March were reported up 3.0%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded as high as 12,840.66 during morning trading then traded as low as 12,749.99 in afternoon trading. The NASDAQ could not regain upside footings with a morning high of 2861.95 drifting to a day’s low at 2825.50 in the afternoon. Stocks were lower overnight into Tuesday in both Asia and Europe with Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed for a holiday. U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday in reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden, but that euphoria faded as the day progressed. After setting a new 2011 high at 12,876, the Dow Industrial Average ended the session down four points to 12,807. The NASDAQ traded to a new 2011 high at 2887.75 and ended the session at 2864.

The yield on the 10-Year US Treasury declined to 3.245 percent Tuesday as a modest flight to quality continues. Comex gold, which declined $16.6 the Troy ounce on Monday, continued to slide on Tuesday with an intraday low below $1527.5 well below the all time high of $1577.4 set on Monday. Nymex crude oil traded down from $113.22 to a day’s low of $110.30 in a profit-taking drift lower. The euro versus the dollar dipped below 1.48 for the second session in a row.

Patriot Coal (PCX) is made a Top Pick at Brean Murray. Arch Coal (ACI) is now Buy from Hold at Brean Murray with a new target of $43. Hercules Offshore (HERO) is hoisted to Outperform from Underperform at FBR Capital with a new target price of $8.50. Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (BWP) is cut to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James. In afternoon trading: Shares of SM Energy (SM) are down about 10.75%. Shares of Forest Oil are down about 10.1%. Shares of Uranerz Energy (URZ) are up about 10.75%.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $77.42 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 2.51% on the day – up 13.44% year-to-date.

Materials

Avalon Rare Metals (AVL) is launched as a Buy rating and $15 price target at Dahlman Rose. U.S. Energy (USEG) is launched as an Outperform at Rodman & Renshaw. In afternoon trading: Shares of Westlake Chemical (WLK) are down about 9.25%. Shares of New Gold (NGD) are down about 7.5%. Shares of Endeavour Silver (EXK) are down about 7.5%. Shares of Hecla Mining (HL) are down about 7.1%. Shares of Eldorado Gold (EGO) are down about 6.75%. Shares of Molycorp (MCP) are UP about 6%.

The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) traded at $40.21 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 0.91% on the day – up 4.69% year-to-date.

Industrials

ABB Limited (ABB) is lifted to Outperform from Neutral by BNP Paribas. In afternoon trading: Shares of YRC Worldwide (YRCW) are down about 19.25% on restructuring news. Shares of Mistras Group (MG) are down about 9.25%. Shares of Polypore International (PPO) are down about 6.9%. Shares of Emerson Electric (EMR) are down about 6%. Shares of Demag Cranes (DMGCF) are up over 31%. Shares of Force Protection (FRPT) are up about 6.75%.

The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) traded at $38.48 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 0.41% on the day – up 10.35% year-to-date.

Consumer Discretionary

The woe continues for Sony (SNE) after hackers stole data from a further 24.6M accounts, adding to 77M accounts already breached. The latest break-in may also include the theft of 10,700 direct debit records and 12,700 credit or debit card numbers. IMAX Corp (IMAX) is launched as a Hold at Stifel Nicolaus. Krispy Kreme (KKD) is launched as a Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott. DSW Inc (DSW) is launched as a Buy at Capstone. General Motors (GM) gets upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS. DISH Network (DISH) is taken to Hold from Buy at Hudson Square Research after earnings. In afternoon trading: Shares of Sears Holdings (SHLD) are down about 9.75%. Shares of Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) are up over 8% after Q1 revenue was boosted by more subscribers. Sirius XM added a better-than-expected 373,064 subscribers, bringing its total listener base to 20.6 million people.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) traded at $40.46 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 0.57% on the day – up 8.15% year-to-date.

Consumer Staples

In afternoon trading: Shares of Herbalife (HLF) are up about 12.75%. Shares of Avon Products (AVP) are up about 4.6%. Shares of Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) are down about 5.75%. Shares of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) are down about 5.75%. Shares of Smart Balance (SMBL) are down about 5.25%. Shares of Clorox (CLX) are down about 4.3%. Shares of SuperValu (SVU) are down about 4%. Shares of Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) are down about 4%.

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) traded at $31.64 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, up 0.25% on the day – up 7.95% year-to-date.

Healthcare

Tenet Healthcare's (THC) shares fell 3.5% to $6.69 as investors doubted whether it would accept Community Health Systems' (CYH) increased $4.1B offer. Pfizer's (PFE) Q1 net profit increased 10% to $2.2B even as revenues were flat $16.5B, with the company reaffirming its full-year 2011 guidance and 2012 financial targets. Mylan Laboratories (MYL) reported Q1 EPS of $0.44 (in-line). Davita (DVA) beat estimates by a penny with revenue in-line with estimates. Dendreon (DNDN) missed estimates by 7 cents and revenue by $1M. Hologic (HOLX) beat estimates by 2 cents and revenue by $6M. Vivus (VVUS) beat estimates by 28 cents. Shire plc (SHPGY) is downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale. Community Health (CYH) is reduced to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. In afternoon trading: Shares of Parexel International (PRXL) are down about 17.5% after the pharmaceutical research contractor reported below-forecast FQ3 earnings and cut its profit and revenue forecasts for fiscal 2011. Shares of Incyte (INCY) are up about 10.75%.

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) traded at $35.51 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 0.25% on the day – up 12.73% year-to-date.

Financials

Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) will take their $11B bid for NYSE-Euronext (NYX) directly to shareholders with a tender offer later this month. DCT Industrial Trust (DCT) reported Q1 EPS of $0.09 (in-line), while beating revenue by $3M. Hartford Financial (HIG) beat estimates by 21 cents, but missed revenue by $3.5M. KKR Financial (KFN) reported Q1 EPS of $0.51 (vs. concensus of $0.38), while beating revenue by $3M. Principal Financial Group (PFG) reported Q1 EPS of $0.71 (in-line) and revenue of $2.04B (in-line). ZipRealty (ZIPR) missed estimates by 13 cents and revenue by $0.13M. In afternoon trading: Shares of Legg Mason (LM) are down about 7.1%. Shares of RAIT Financial (RAS) are down about 5.5%. Shares of Principal Financial Group are down about 5.5%.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) traded at $16.38 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, up 0.43% on the day – up 2.70% year-to-date.

Information Technology

South Korean police have raided Google's (GOOG) Seoul office on suspicion that its AdMob unit had illegally collected location data without consent. The raid comes as U.S. legislators target Google and Apple (AAPL) over their use of consumer data from cellphone applications, including location information. Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) beat estimates by 7 cents and revenue by $10M, and they See Q2 EPS of $0.36-0.44 (vs. $0.38 consensus) and revenue of $148-160M (vs. $144M consensus). Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported FQ3 EPS of $0.85 (in-line) and revenue of $2.73B (in-line). CyberDefender (CYDE) reported EPS of -$0.22 (vs. consensus of -$0.09), while beating revenue by $0.1M, and they see full-year gross sales of at least $100M (vs. $71M consensus). Local.com (LOCM) reported EPS of $0.00 (in-line), while beating revenue by $0.5M. However, they see Q2 EPS of -$0.12 (vs. consensus of $0.07) and revenue of $17M (vs. consensus of $19.2M). NetLogic Microsystems (NETL) beat estimates by 3 cents and revenue by $1M. Ericsson AB (ERIC) is boosted to Buy from Sell at Deutsche Bank. Juniper Networks (JNPR) gets moved to Market Perform from Outperform at First Global. SRA Intl (SRX) is downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. In afternoon trading: Shares of Local.com are down about 15%. Shares of Computer Sciences (CSC) are down about 13%. Shares of Cognex (CGNX) are up about 14.5% after beating estimates by 7 cents and revenue by $2.7M. Shares of Kulicke and Soffa (KLIC) are up about 12.25%. Shares of Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS) are up about 10% after beating estimates by 8 cents with revenue in-line with estimates.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) traded at $26.65 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, up slightly on the day – up 5.80% year-to-date.

Telecommunications Services

Verizon (VZ) is downgraded to Reduce from Neutral at Citadel. China Unicom Hong Kong (CHU) is lowered to Underperform from Market Perform at Macquarie. In afternoon trading: Shares of MetroPCS Communications (PCS) are up about 9.5% after reporting strong quarterly earnings and record quarterly net subscriber additions in the first quarter. The company is also banking on the strength it has seen in smartphones to continue this year. Shares of Telefonica (TEF) are down about 4.75%. Shares of PAETEC (PAET) are down about 3.8%.

The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) traded at $225.01 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, down 1.16% on the day – down 0.16% year-to-date.

Utilities

NiSource (NI) reported Q1 EPS of $0.72 (in-line), while missing revenue by $920M. In afternoon trading: Actives: Shares of FirstEnergy (FE) are up about 5.5%. Shares of Duke Energy (DUK) are down slightly. Shares of PPL (PPL) are down slightly. Shares of Exelon (EXC) are up about 1%. Shares of AES (AES) are up slightly.

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) traded at $33.38 at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, up 0.63% on the day – up 6.51% year-to-date.

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